“Ms. McKinney? Congratulations! You’re one month along!”The doctor’s excitement only made Deirdre McKinnon’s face pale as the blood drained from her face. “Are you sure?” she asked gingerly. “I’m certain what I had was just gastric pain. I don’t think a pregnancy would be even possible. Can you just… check again?”“Ms. McKinney, have you had sex in the past month?”“Y-Yes?”“Did you use protection? Did you take the morning-after pill?”Deirdre recalled what had happened on that rainy night and shook her head. “There we go,” the doctor concluded with a smile. “You had unprotected sex and didn’t take the morning-after pill. Of course, the probability of getting pregnant would be high. Why would you think it’s impossible?”Deirdre had no counter-argument. She clenched her hand around her chest, hesitated, and asked tentatively, “C-Can you… modify that report for me, doctor? Make it state that I’m not pregnant. Please, just do this favor for me. I’ll pay you! I’ll pay you handsome

After making sure Charlene was okay, Brendan returned to an empty living room. He then asked Steven with a frown, “Where’s Deirdre?”The question struck Steven dumb. Before he managed to come up with an answer, Brendan’s phone rang. It was a call from his mother. His mother’s laughter was heard when he picked up. “Brendan, you silly boy! How could you keep such great news from me? God, our Lena is pregnant! You gotta come home right this instant, son!”By the time Brendan arrived at the family mansion, Deirdre had made herself comfortable on the couch and was nibbling on some snacks. His mother was holding her hand in sheer glee. Deirdre’s solace was ruined as soon as she saw Brendan. She froze, lowered her head, and tried to avoid locking eyes with him. Brendan was seething with rage. However, he cracked a smirk and uttered, “Oh, this is just perfect.”So… His spineless prey had a card up her sleeve, after all.Deirdre trembled despite herself, and Madame Brighthall sensed i

To Deirdre, the burning sensation in her skin was nothing compared to the pain in her heart. Charlene had begun to sob, but instead of being pissed off, Brendan winced in sympathy. Deirdre came to realize that he did not hate seeing women cry in general. He just hated seeing her cry.Deirdre got to her hands and feet with great difficulty. “It wasn’t… It wasn’t me,” she stated weakly, showing Brendan her blistered hand. “The spilled water… See? All of it ended up here…”“F*ck off!” Brendan bellowed. He then slapped her wounded hand away. She gasped and almost fainted in pain.Brendan thought she was acting and uttered, “You don’t get a say, b*tch. You should be glad that you’re the one who got scalded. Had Lena been hurt, I wouldn’t have just killed you—I would have made sure you suffered for days before you finally died!“Get the f*ck out of here!”Deirdre made her way to the door. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see mirth in Charlene’s eyes.“Bren? Stop it, okay?

Brendan realized, belatedly, that she was referring to his previous request regarding Charlene’s crime. Still, not even the apocalypse could convince him that she meant what she had said about getting out of his life forever. How was he supposed to believe that when this woman had the tenacity and slobbering devotion of a dog in love with its master? She would not leave no matter his treatment. That child she was carrying for him would only encourage her to haunt him even more. His tone was noticeably softer than usual, though. He still needed her to bear Charlene’s sentence, after all. “Look, ease up. Now that you agreed to go in her place, I’ll hold up my end of the bargain and make sure there won’t be a death sentence. Just stay there for five months while I come up with a way to get you released. As for your mother? I assure you, I’ll send some of my people to get her back.”For the longest time, there was only silence on the other side. Brendan was not known for his patience, s

Deirdre’s eyes did not focus. They did not react at all.The doctor pressed her lips with a pang of pity. Faced with a woman whose face was in irreversible ruin, the doctor suddenly found it hard to form any words. “E-Excuse me?” Deirdre asked obviously. “Are you still there, doctor?”She reached out before retreating sharply, as if something terrible had unfurled in her mind. Her voice was shaking. “W-Where are the lights? It’s so dark in here! I can’t see a thing! Turn on the lights!”She pulled the blanket away from her and leaped out of bed, knocking off the hospital trolley beside her. There was a loud cacophony of shattering glass as Deirdre crashed on the floor. “Easy, there!” the doctor warned as she stepped forward to help her out. “There are trolleys around you. It’s quite the walking hazard, alright?”“Trolleys? Where?” Deirdre asked, her voice thick with tears. “Why can’t I see them, doctor? It’s pitch black in here, right? Right? There’s a p-p-power cut, perhaps? I